I’m always at a little of a loss as for what to call this kind of white sauce; in the classical (French) nomenclature it’s most closely related to Mornay Sauce (basically, Béchamel with cheese and other flavorings), but most Americans will immediately identify it as Alfredo, even though that shouldn’t be thickened with a starch.
The dish is layered from farfalle, chopped cooked spinach, the aforementioned white sauce, and pieces of chicken.
This batch of sauce is a simple flour/butter white roux, whole milk, grated Parmesan (and a dash of Kroger “Italian Blend” because it’s good for texture) Cheese, seasoned with nutmeg (seriously, always put nutmeg in Alfredo-type sauces, they won’t taste right otherwise), roasted garlic, and red pepper flakes.
The chicken is sliced before cooking in a very hot, very heavy pan with garlic, rosemary, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes in olive oil. The high temperature and large heat capacity are a must to get the nice color and texture.
The topping is micro-planed Parmesan and red pepper flakes.
I’m honestly more pleased with how it looked than how it tasted; it wasn’t bad, but it plated up really nicely, and the sauce was far more mild than I intended. Cheese sauces will STAND UP to whatever you throw at them; I always underestimate that fact when I haven’t made one in a while and mistakenly treat them as delicate.
